Karol Watson, MD
Cardiovascular Disease · Los Angeles, CANPI 1184646358
Payments from drug & device makers
What this record shows
This record is dominated by speaking fees: $440,621 of the $552,566 with a category attached, or 79.7%. 19 manufacturers reported payments, led by Lilly USA, LLC at 52.0% of the total. Reporting peaked in 2020 at $153,219 and has fallen 84.9% since, to $23,146 in 2025. Among cardiovascular disease clinicians in CA with any reported payments, this total sits in the top 5% — high for the specialty, which is a reason to read the composition above rather than the number alone.
Across 404 payments — averaging $1367.74 each. Meals, travel, consulting and speaking fees, gifts and royalties reported by drug and device makers.
- Lilly USA, LLC$287K
- Boehringer Ingelheim$196K
- Novartis$20K
- Amgen$17K
- Merck$9K
- Eli Lilly$6K
- plus $17K from 13 others
What the payments were for
- Consulting fees$73,47913%
- Speaking & faculty fees$440,62180%
- Travel & lodging$32,5966%
- Food & beverage$5,8671%
- Education$20%
General payments by program year
Who reported the general payments
Companies are grouped under their corporate parent — a single manufacturer often files under several CMS reporting entities. Research and ownership payments are counted separately and are not in this table.
| Company | Payments | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Lilly USA, LLC | 196 | $287,155 |
| Boehringer Ingelheim | 149 | $195,595 |
| Novartis | 9 | $20,047 |
| Amgen | 14 | $17,043 |
| Merck | 13 | $9,483 |
| Eli Lilly | 2 | $6,275 |
| Novo Nordisk | 6 | $5,750 |
| Bayer | 1 | $2,945 |
| Mallinckrodt Enterprises LLC | 2 | $2,700 |
| AstraZeneca | 1 | $2,148 |
| CSL Behring | 1 | $1,560 |
| Urovant Sciences Inc | 1 | $1,000 |
| Shockwave Medical, Inc | 1 | $223 |
| Regeneron | 1 | $144 |
| Philips North America LLC | 1 | $137 |
| Biotronik Inc. | 1 | $135 |
| Corcept Therapeutics | 1 | $127 |
| Kestra Medical Technology Services, Inc. | 1 | $96 |
| Travere Therapeutics, Inc. | 3 | $2 |
What the payments were tied to
Products named in the reported payments. Only payments of $100 or more are attributed here — the typical reported payment nationally is a meal worth about $16, and listing those product-by-product would be noise.
- JARDIANCE$330,514
- TRULICITY$123,636
- LEQVIO$10,587
- Repatha$8,750
- Non-Covered$2,945
- Ozempic$2,625
- GEMTESA$1,000
- Shockwave IVL System with the Shockwave C2 Coronary IVL Catheter$223
- EVKEEZA$144
- Ambulatory Monitoring & Diagnostics Undivided$137
- Orsiro Mission$135
- PK Papyrus$135
- Korlym$127
How this compares
$552,566 in reported general payments places this provider in the 95th percentile of 2,184 cardiovascular disease providers in California.
Medicare billing
What this is not: this is the amount Original Medicare Part B allowed for services this provider billed in 2024. It is not their income. It excludes Medicare Advantage — now more than half of all Medicare enrollment — along with Medicaid and all commercial insurance, and it is gross practice revenue before staff, rent, supplies and malpractice premiums. CMS also suppresses any figure covering ten or fewer patients, so low-volume providers appear smaller than they are.
Most prescribed under Part D
| Drug | Claims | Cost to plans & patients |
|---|---|---|
| EliquisApixaban | 81 | $106,886 |
| Repatha SureclickEvolocumab | 42 | $42,547 |
| Praluent PenAlirocumab | 27 | $29,198 |
| XareltoRivaroxaban | 16 | $16,515 |
| EntrestoSacubitril/Valsartan | 13 | $15,606 |
| JardianceEmpagliflozin | 12 | $13,866 |
| LivaloPitavastatin Calcium | 15 | $11,073 |
| Pitavastatin Calcium | 41 | $8,608 |
| Ezetimibe | 108 | $3,480 |
| Olmesartan-Amlodipine-HctzOlmesartan/Amlodipin/Hcthiazid | 25 | $3,427 |
| Amlodipine-OlmesartanAmlodipine Bes/Olmesartan Med | 58 | $3,104 |
| Olmesartan-HydrochlorothiazideOlmesartan/Hydrochlorothiazide | 73 | $2,913 |
| Rosuvastatin Calcium | 166 | $2,911 |
| Atorvastatin Calcium | 209 | $2,282 |
| Metoprolol Succinate | 149 | $1,926 |
Paid to pharmacies, not to this prescriber.
Companies that both paid and supply prescribed drugs
These companies both reported payments to this provider and make drugs the provider prescribed under Medicare Part D in 2024. For most specialties this overlap is expected — a cardiologist who is paid by a cardiology drugmaker also treats heart disease. It is shown so the reader can see it, not because it implies anything on its own.
| Company | Paid to this provider | Part D cost of their drugs |
|---|---|---|
| NovartisEntresto | $20,047 | $15,60613 claims |
| Boehringer IngelheimJardiance | $195,595 | $13,86612 claims |
Reading this fairly. The Part D column is what drug plans and patients paid pharmacies — this provider received none of it, and it reflects how many patients they treat and what those drugs cost. Against peers, this provider's reported payments sit in the 95th percentile of 2,184 cardiovascular disease providers in California.
Other cardiovascular disease in Los Angeles
- Cathleen Bairey-MerzLos Angeles$1.2M
- Jamil AboulhosnLos Angeles$423K
- Darren BermanLos Angeles$392K
- Arash NayeriLos Angeles$281K
- Gregg FonarowLos Angeles$260K
- Martha GulatiLos Angeles$141K
- Ted LoveHillsborough$102.8M
- Paul KurthSanta Barbara$6.1M
- Jason RogersSacramento$4.4M
- Matthew BudoffTorrance$3.6M
Where these figures come from
- Payments: CMS Open Payments, program years 2019–2025 (publication P06302026_06032026).
- Billing: Medicare Physician & Other Practitioners, data year 2024. Original Medicare Part B only.
- Identity: NPPES NPI Registry, July 2026.